Acts 20:29

Act 20:29-30. For I know this — As if he had said, Wonder not that I give you this charge in so strict a manner; for, besides the weighty reasons for it which I have already intimated, I know, that after my departure — From the churches in these parts, or my removal out of this life, notwithstanding all I have done to preserve discipline and truth among you; grievous wolves shall enter in — From without, that is, seducing teachers, who shall endeavour to make a prey of you, and, by introducing false and heretical doctrines, shall divide and scatter you, as wolves make a prey of, divide, and scatter the sheep. He seems to mean those Judaizing and false teachers, who, though they had before this time done much mischief at Corinth and elsewhere, had not yet got any footing at Ephesus; not sparing the flock — Having no mercy on them, but, with voracious eagerness, and overbearing violence, making terrible havoc of God’s church, out of a mean and wicked regard to their own private and secular interests. Also of your own selves — From within; shall men arise — Proud and factious men; speaking perverse things — Broaching false and pernicious tenets, which they will endeavour to establish by perverting the Scriptures; to draw away disciples after them — From the purity of the gospel, and the unity of the body; or to make a party for themselves, that shall admire, be led by them, and contribute to their support and exaltation. By these, distinguished from those termed grievous wolves, in the foregoing verse, the apostle may mean such as Phygellus, Hermogenes, Hymeneus, and Philetus: as also those that afterward introduced the Nicolaitan principles and practices, of which Christ complains as prevailing here, (Rev 2:6,) as well as in the neighbouring city Pergamus, Rev 2:14-15.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

20:29-30 vicious wolves: Paul’s prophecy did in fact happen, prompting him to write to Timothy in Ephesus some five years later (see 1 Tim 1:3-7, 19-20; 4:1-5; see also Matt 7:15; 10:16; Mark 13:22; Luke 10:3; 2 Pet 2:1-22; 3:3).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Act 20:29. Ἐγὼ, I) A sure and confident prediction.—εἰσελεύσονται, enter in) from elsewhere. In antithesis to, from among your own selves, Act 20:30. Concerning both kinds of pestilential evils among the Ephesians, see Rev 2:2; Rev 2:6.—μετὰ, after) Immediately after the departure and death of the apostles, the Church lost a great part of its purity, as is evident from their (the apostles’) predictions, warnings, and complaints. As to the Church of the Ephesians, see the Epp. to Tim. and the writings of John.—μετὰ τὴν ἄφιξίν μου) Hesychius says, ἄφιξις, i.e. ἔφοδος, παρουσία, arrival, presence. Comp. Rom 16:19, “Your obedience is come (ἀφίκετο) unto all men;” where see the note. Nor does ἄφιξις signify departure. Zosimus, lib. v.: μετὰ τὴν Ὀνωρίου εἰς τὴν Ῥάβευναν ἄφιξιν, i.e. after Honorius had set out from Ravenna to Bononia (not after his departure to Ravenna). Eusebius, lib. vi. Demonstr. Evang. last chapter: μετὰ τὴν εἰς ἡμᾶς ἄφιξιν (τοῦ Χριστοῦ) ὁ νεὼς ἐπυρπολεῖτο. Therefore the sense is, “First Paul came: then afterwards shall come wolves.” Comp. Joh 5:43.—λύκοι, wolves) Allegorical.—μὴ φειδόμενοι, not sparing) A Meiosis, i.e. (not only) not spring, but) most baneful. It is the part of a pastor φείδεσθαι, to spare.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act_20:29-30. Ἐγώ] with similar emphasis, as in Act_20:25 : After my departure

I know itnot only will enemies from without intrude among you (Ephesian Christians, as whose representatives the presbyters were present), who will be relentlessly destructive to the welfare of the church; but also within the church itself, out of the midst of you, will men with perverse doctrines arise.

That by the very common figure of ravenous (vehementes, comp. βαρύτατος ἀνταγωνιστής, Xen. Ages. 11, 12) wolves (Mat_7:15; Luk_10:3; Joh_10:12) is not meant, as Grotius supposes, persecutio sub Nerone, but false teachers working perniciously, is rendered probable by the very parallelism of Act_20:30, and still more certain by the relation of εἰσελεύσ. to μετὰ τὴν ἄφιξίν μου, according to which Paul represents his presence as that which has hitherto withheld the intrusion of the λύκοι,a connection which, in the case of its being explained of political persecutors, would be devoid of truth.

ἄφιξις is here not arrival (as almost constantly with Greek writers), but departure, going away, Dem. 58, pen.; Herod. vii. 58. Paul does not specially mean his death, but generally his removal (discessionem, Vulgate), on which the false teachers necessarily depended for the assertion of their influence. Moreover, his prediction without doubt rests on the observations and experiences (comp. 1Co_16:9) which he had made during his long ministry in Ephesus and Asia. He must have known the existence of germs in which he saw the sad pledge of the truth of his warning; and we have no reason to doubt that the reality corresponded to this prediction. At the time of the composition of the Epistle to the Ephesians, the false teachers may not yet have been working in Ephesus itself, but in Colossae and its neighbourhood thesethey were Judaists of an Essene-Gnostic typehad made themselves felt (see Introduction to Colossians, § 2), and in Asia Minor generally the heretics of the First Epistle of John and probably also of that of Jude are to be sought, not to mention those of the Apocalypse and Pastoral Epistles. The indefinite and general expressions, in which the false teachers are here described, correspond to the character of prophetic foresight and prediction. According to Zeller, a later writer has by these sought to conceal his otherwise too glaring anachronism; whereas Baur finds the sectarian character, such as it existed at most toward the close of the first century, so definitely delineated, that he from this circumstance recognises a vaticinium post eventum! Thus the same expression is for the one too indefinite, and for the other too definite; but both arrive at the same result, which must be reached, let the Paul of the Book of Acts speak as he will.

ἀποσπᾷν κ.τ.λ.] to draw away, from the fellowship of true believers, after them. Character falsi doctoris, ut velit ex se uno pendere discipulos, Bengel. On ὀπίσω αὐτ., comp. Act_5:37.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act 20:29 . ἐγὼ γὰρ οἶδα , see critical note. Baur and Zeller could only see in this assertion a vaticinium post eventum the heresiarchs are portrayed in the general expressions in vogue in the second century; so too Renan thinks that the writer gives us the ideas of a later date, although he does not carry us further than 75 80 A.D. But if we accept the early date of the Didaché , that document is quite sufficient to show us that similar phraseology to that in the address before us was current in the Church at an earlier date than Baur and Zeller supposed. If St. Paul had been engaged all his life in struggling with false teachers, it would have been inconceivably short-sighted if he had thought that such dangers would cease after his departure, and still more inconceivable if with such presentiments he had neglected to warn the Church. The vagueness of the description of the heretical teachers is in itself a proof of genuineness, and a writer of a later date would have made it far less general, and more easily to be identified with some current error. It has been further objected by Zeller and Overbeck, and even by Wendt, that it is strange that with present opponents before him, 1Co 16:8-9 , St. Paul should speak only of the future; but whilst he had himself been present among them he had been their protector against their enemies, but now that he was about to withdraw from them nothing was more natural than that he should warn them against the subtle attacks which might be more easily made when his own careful superintendence was no more. εἰσελεύσονται : so men outside the fold the when of their entrance is not specified precisely, but the words were amply fufilled in the presence of the emissaries of the Judaisers, creeping in from the Jewish communities into the Churches of Asia, as they had slunk into the Churches of Galatia, cf. Hort, Judaistic Christianity , pp. 130 146, on the teaching of the Judaisers and its evil influence in the Pastoral Epistles. There is at all events no need to refer the words with Grotius to outward persecution, such as that of Nero. ἄφιξιν , i.e. , his departure from amongst them (not necessarily including his death), not arrival, although the latter meaning attaches to the word in classical Greek, so too 3Ma 7:18 ; Jos., Ant. , iv., 8, 47 (but see both Alford and Blass, in loco ). λύκοι : continuing the imagery of Act 20:28 , cf. Mat 7:15 , Luk 10:3 , Joh 10:12 ; so in the O.T. λύκοι of presumptuous and cruel rulers and judges, Eze 22:27 , Zep 3:3 . The similar kind of language used by Ignat., Philadelph. , ii., 1, 2; Justin Martyr, Apol. , i., 58; Iren., Adv. Hær. , i., Præf. 2, may well have been borrowed from this, not vice versâ as Zeller maintained; but such imagery would no doubt be widely known from its employment in O. and N.T. alike. βαρεῖς , cf. for the sense of the adjective, Hom., Il. , i., 89; Xen., Ages. , xi., 12; so too Diog. Laert., i., 72. μὴ φειδ .: litotes , cf. Joh 10:12 . The verb occurs six times in St. Paul’s Epistles, twice in Romans and four times in the Corinthian Epistles (only twice elsewhere in N.T. in 2 Pet.).

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

A prophecy of pastors that should straightway degenerate into wolves against such as boast and brag only of a succession of persons.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you--Two classes of coming enemies are here announced, the one more external to themselves, the other bred in the bosom of their own community; both were to be teachers, but the one, "grievous wolves," not sparing, that is, making a prey of the flock; the other (Act 20:30), simply sectarian "perverters" of the truth, with the view of drawing a party after them. Perhaps the one pointed to that subtle poison of Oriental Gnosticism which we know to have very early infected the Asiatic churches; the other to such Judaizing tendencies as we know to have troubled nearly all the early churches. See the Epistles to the Ephesians, Colossians, and Timothy, also those to the seven churches of Asia (Rev. 2:1-3:22). But watchfulness against all that tends to injure and corrupt the Church is the duty of its pastors in every age.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 29. After my departing] Referring, most likely, to his death; for few of these evils took place during his life.

Grievous wolves] Persons professing to be teachers; Judaizing Christians, who, instead of feeding the flock, would feed themselves, even to the oppression and ruin of the Church.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

29. For I know. Paul doth now exhort the Ephesians to watch diligently, by the necessity, which is a most sharp prick. For he saith that “grievous wolves are ready to invade the sheepfold.” This is a thing always incident to the Church to be hated of wolves. Wherefore, there is no time to sleep. But the more and the more hurtful those be who break in, the more watchful must the pastors be. For God doth sometimes release some part of trouble, that the flock may be fed quietly and peaceably; and as when the weather is fair and clear, the sheep are fed more safely in the fields, and there is more danger when the air is cloudy and dark; so the Church of God hath sometimes some fair weather granted to it. After that cometh a troublesome time, which is more fit for the subtilty of wolves. Therefore, Paul doth mean, that it standeth them upon to be more watchful than they have been hitherto, because greater dangers hang over their heads. But the question is, how Paul knew this? First, we need not doubt of this, but that his presence was of great force to drive away wolves; and no marvel, if the power of the Spirit, which shineth in the ministers of Christ, do bridle the wicked so that they dare not utter their poison; yea, if that heavenly light do drive away much darkness of Satan. Therefore, seeing that Paul did know that the malice of Satan was kept under for a time by his industry, he doth easily foretell what will happen after his departure, though it be likely he was certified by the Lord, through the spirit of prophecy, that others might be admonished by him, as we see it came to pass. Howsoever it be, so often as faithful pastors go away, let us learn that we must beware of wolves, whom they can hardly drive from the sheep-cots, though they watch most narrowly.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(29) After my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you.—The figurative language followed naturally on the idea of the flock and of the shepherds who keep watch over it. It lies in the nature of the case that the wolf stands primarily for the open enemies of the flock, the persecutors of all ages. (Comp. Joh_10:12.) The wolves, however, might come in sheep’s clothing (Mat_7:15), and so the false prophets, the usurpers of authority, and leaders of parties within the Church, are also included in the term. Here this latter class is distinctly pointed out in the following verse. We find traces of the fulfilment of the prediction in the “turning away” of 2Ti_1:15; the “fiery trial” of 1Pe_1:7; 1Pe_4:12; the suffering “as a Christian” of 1Pe_4:16.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

29. For I know this] The oldest MSS. (and the Rev. Ver.) have only “I know.”

that after my departing] This noun is only used here, and most frequently in classical Greek signifies “arrival,” though not always. But as the person who departs from one place arrives at another, it is only a difference of the point of view. Here there can be no doubt of its meaning. It does not refer to the Apostle’s death, but his leaving Asia, with the thought that he should return no more.

shall grievous wolves … flock] The Apostle seems first to refer to false teachers who should come in from without. He must have been familiar with the dangers to which the Ephesian church was exposed, and we know from his Epistles how much harm was already inflicted on the Christian Church by the Judaizers and Gnostics. Even when writing to so undisturbed a church as that in Philippi, we find the Apostle giving warning against both kinds of error. And if we turn to those early parts of the Apocalypse in which the condition of the churches of Asia is described, we can read of a crop of errors the sowers of which St Paul may have had in his mind as he spake at Miletus. “Nicolaitans,” “those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan,” “those that hold the teaching of Balaam,” “the woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess,” all these could not have risen in a moment, but must have given indications of their existence long before they became so prominent as they were when St John wrote. He must have read the New Testament with little appreciation who speaks of the words here ascribed to St Paul as a “prophecy after the event” made by the writer of the Acts in the second century.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And now brethren,.... So the apostle calls the elders of the church at Ephesus; though they had not the same gifts, and were not in the same high office as he was, yet he puts himself upon a level with them, as if he and they were fellow elders, as Peter calls himself, Pe1 5:1 which is an instance of the apostle's humility and affection:

I commend you to God; to God the Father; to his grace, to supply all their need; to his wisdom, to direct them in all their affairs; and to his power, to keep them from the sins and corruptions of the times, and from the errors and heresies now broaching, or to be broached.

And to the word of his grace: either the Gospel, before called the Gospel of the grace of God, Act 20:24 This is sometimes called "the word", the word of faith, of truth, of righteousness, of reconciliation and salvation; and is "his" word, the word of God, and not of man; it comes from him, is concerning him, and is succeeded by him; and it is the word of "his grace", since it publishes his free grace and mercy in Christ Jesus, and declares salvation to, be wholly of the grace of God; to which this church is commended by the apostle as a rule of faith and practice, to attend unto, and abide by, and as a preservative from those errors and heresies which he had observed would spring up among them, and which would be for their instruction, comfort, and establishment: or else the Lord Jesus is intended, who is the eternal and essential word of God; who, as the word, inwardly conceived, is the image of the mind, equal to it, and yet distinct from it, so Christ is the image of the invisible God, equal to him, and yet a distinct person from him; and as the word expressed is the interpreter of the mind, so Christ the word, who was in the beginning with God, and lay in his bosom, has spoke all things from him, declared his mind, and explained his will: besides, he is the word who in the everlasting council and covenant spoke on the behalf of all his people, asked for every blessing for them, and engaged to be the surety of them; and is the word, who, in the beginning of time, spoke all things out of nothing; and now is the advocate, and speaks for the saints in heaven, as well as he has been the word spoken of by all the holy prophets from the beginning of the world: and he may be thought the rather to be designed, since the saints never commend themselves, or others, either in life, or in death, to any but to a divine person; nor is any but a divine person capable of taking the care and charge of the saints, and of making it good; nor will they trust any other; nor are the saints ever said to be committed or commended to the Gospel, but on the other hand, that is said to be committed to them: the written word is committed to the care and keeping of the saints, but not the saints to the care and keeping of that; nor does it appear so agreeable to put the written word upon a level with the divine Being; a commendation of the saints, equally to the written word, as to God himself, seems to be a lessening of the glory of the divine Being, and an ascribing too much to the word, but suits well with Christ the essential word: and who may be called the word of his grace, because the grace of God is greatly displayed in him; and because all fulness of grace dwells in him; and he is the author, donor, and object of all grace, and so a proper person to be commended to; and what follows is very applicable to him:

which is able to build you up: in faith and holiness, and on himself, the sure foundation; for though the Gospel is an instrument in the hands of the Spirit of God, in building up saints on their most holy faith, yet Christ is the master builder; it is he that builds the temple, the church, and every particular believer, and must bear the glory. The saints, though they are built on Christ the foundation, against which the gates of hell cannot prevail, and so are safe; yet they stand in need of building up, or of edification; and a church may be said to be built up, or edified, when additions are made unto it of such as shall be saved; and particular members are built up, when additions are made to their grace, or they grow in the exercise of it; when their spiritual strength increases, when their understandings are more enlightened, their judgments better informed, and their memories filled with divine truths and Gospel doctrines; when they are more and more confirmed in the faith of Christ, both as a grace, and as a doctrine; and their wills are brought to a greater resignation to the will of God, as well as their afflictions are set upon things in heaven, and their souls are more seeking after them: and now this is what God is able to do, and does do; for except he builds, in vain do the builders build; he causes all grace to abound; and so does his word, his essential word; he is the author and finisher of faith, and gives both grace and glory, as it follows:

and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified: by the inheritance is meant the heavenly glory, which is a free grace gift and not obtained by the works of the law, or the industry of men. It is a distribution by lot, as the land of Canaan was, even by the lot of God's eternal purpose and decree: it is what belongs to children, to the children of God, and them only; and therefore bears this name, and comes unto them upon, and in consequence of the death of Christ the testator: it is his righteousness which entitles unto it; and it is the grace of God which makes meet for it; and the Spirit of God is the earnest of it: it is an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in the heavens, and is an eternal one; it lies in light, and among the saints there. God is able to give it; it is a gift of his grace, of his sovereign will, which he gives to whom he pleases; it is an inheritance of his preparing and disposing, which he calls unto, makes meet for, and bestows: and Christ, the word of his grace, is able to give it; it is in his hands, not only the promise of it, but that itself; he is in possession of it, and it is in his power to give it; and he does give it to all that the Father has given him, and who are here described from their sanctification; for this is only enjoyed by such, who are set apart by God the Father, whose sins are expiated by the blood of Christ, and to whom he is made sanctification, and who are sanctified by the blessed Spirit. Now though the Gospel, the written word, may be as a map, which shows where this inheritance lies, and which is the way to it; yet it is Christ, the living word, who gives the right unto it, the meetness for it, the earnest of it, and will put into the possession of it.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.

Ver. 29. Shall grievous wolves enter] Or fat wolves; for Βαρυς in Greek comes of בריא in Hebrew, which signifies fat, as some etymologists have observed; a fit epithet for seducers, which fat themselves with the blood of souls. Now it is well observed that heretical seducers are fitly compared to wolves in various respects. First, wolves are dull sighted by day, but quick sighted in the night; {a} so are pernicious seducers sharp witted for error, but dull to apprehend the truth of sound divinity. Secondly, as the wolf deals gently with the sheep at first, carrying it away unhurt upon his back till he have brought it to the place where he means to strangle it: even so deal seducers; they first draw their proselytes into lighter errors, and then into blasphemous and damnable heresies. And thus homo homini lupus est, one man becomes a wolf to another. Thirdly, as a wolf begets a wolf, so doth a deceiver a deceived. {b} Fourthly, as the wolf is said to strike a man dumb, if he spy the man before the man spy him; {c} so when seducers prevail, they strike men dumb in respect of savoury communication or Christian profession. Fifthly, as the wool of a wolf, if it be made into a garment, will prove but an odious garment, breeding vermin upon him that shall wear it, as Plutarch speaks; so the good which poor seduced souls think they receive by impostors, it will prove corruption in the end. Lastly, as wolves are of a ravenous disposition and insatiable, so seducers hunger after gain, Rom 16:18, and thirst after blood of souls, as those Mat 23:6.

{a} Lupus interdiu obtusius, nocte clarius videt. Gesner.

{b} Omne simile generat sibi simile. Plin. viii. 22.

{c} Lupi me videre priores. Virg.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For I know this - By what he had seen in other places; by his knowledge of human nature, and of the dangers to which they were exposed; and by the guidance of inspiration.

After my departure - His presence had been the means of guarding the church, and preserving it from these dangers. Now that the founder and guide of the church was to be removed, they would be exposed to dissensions and dangers.

Grievous wolves - Heavy βαρεῖς bareis, strong, mighty, dangerous wolves - so strong that the feeble flock would not be able to resist them. The term “wolves” is used to denote “the enemies of the flock - false, and hypocritical, and dangerous teachers.” Compare Mat 10:16.

Enter in among you - From abroad; doubtless referring particularly to the Jews, who might be expected to distract and divide them.

Not sparing the flock - Seeking to destroy the church. The Jews would regard it with special hostility, and would seek to destroy it in every way. Probably they would approach them with great professed friendship for them, and expressing a desire only to defend the laws of Moses.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

My departing; either out of this country, or out of this life.

Grievous wolves; so false teachers and persecutors are called, the one destroying the body, the other the soul. In this the metaphor is persisted in; the disciples of Christ being as sheep or lambs, their enemies are by our Saviour himself called wolves. Mat 7:15.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

29. I know this—He might know this by the inspired witness of the Holy Ghost, as in Act_20:23, or from his inferences from observed facts, as in Act_20:25.

Departing—To Jerusalem. (See Rev_2:1-6.)

Wolves—Not persecutors, but schismatics and heretics.

Not sparing the flock—Ready to rend it for doctrinal or selfish reasons.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I know for, for I know this, A.V. and T.R.; grievous wolves shall for shall grievous wolves, A.V. After my departure. (afixin, not ajnalusin, as 2Ti_4:6) The word, which is only found here in the New Testament, usually means "arrival" in classical Greek, but it also means, as here, "departure." It is not to be taken in the sense of "departure from this life," but refers to that separation, which he thought was forever, which was about to take place. Grievous wolves; still keeping up the metaphor of the flock. The wolves denote the false teachers, principally Judaizers. See 2Ti_3:1-12, 2Ti_3:13, "But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived." These came from Judaea.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Grievous wolves - From without, namely, false apostles. They had, not yet broke in on the Church at Ephesus.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

wolves

The two sources of the apostasy: false teachers from without, 2Co 11:13-15; 2Pe 2:1-3 ambitious leaders from within,; 3Jn 1:9; 3Jn 1:10; Rev 2:6; Rev 2:15. Also,; 1Ti 1:20; 1Jn 2:19.

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

HERESY PREDICTED

29. “I know that after my departure grievous wolves will come in unto you, not sparing the flock;

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

See notes on verse 28

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

29. ἐγώ οἶδα with אABCD. Vulg. ‘ego scio.’

29. μετὰ τὴν ἄφιξίν μου, after my departing. This noun is only found here in N.T. In classical Greek it most frequently means ‘arrival,’ but not always. But as the person who arrives at one place must have departed from some other, it is only a change in the point of view. Here there is no doubt of its meaning. It does not refer to St Paul’s death, but to his departure from Asia, with the thought that he should return no more.

λύκοι βαρεῖς, grievous wolves. The Apostle seems first to refer to false teachers who should come in from without. He must have been familiar with the dangers to which the Ephesian Church was exposed, and we know from his Epistles how much harm had already been inflicted on the Christian Church by the Judaizers and Gnostics. Even when writing to so undisturbed a Church as that in Philippi, we find the Apostle giving warning against both kinds of error. And if we turn to those early parts of the Apocalypse in which the condition of the Churches of Asia is described, we can read of a crop of errors the sowers of which St Paul may have had in his mind as he spake at Miletus. ‘Nicolaitans,’ ‘those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan,’ ‘those that hold the teaching of Balaam,’ ‘the woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess,’ all these could not have risen in a moment, but must have given indications of their existence long before they became so prominent as they were when St John wrote. He must have read the New Testament with little appreciation who speaks of the words here ascribed to St Paul as a ‘prophecy after the event’ made by the writer of the Acts in the second century. Cf. ‘Teaching of the Twelve Apostles’ § 16.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

29.] ἄφιξις is here used in an unusual sense. An instance is found, Jos. Antt. iv. 8. 47, where Moses says, ἐπεὶ πρὸς τοὺς ἡμετέρους ἄπειμι προγόνους, καὶ θεὸς τήνδε μοι τὴν ἡμέραν τῆς πρὸς ἐκείνους ἀφίξεως ὥρισε … which is somewhat analogous, but more easily explained. That in Herod. ix. 77 (init.) also seems analogous. In Demosth. de Pace, p. 58 (fin.), we have τὴν τότε ἄφιξιν εἰς τοὺς πολεμίους ἐποιήσατο, which is most like the usage here. Perhaps, absolutely put, it must signify ‘my death;’ see the above passage of Josephus.

λύκοι βαρεῖς] not persecutors, but false teachers, from the words εἰσελ. εἰς ὑμᾶς, by which it appears that they were to come in among the flock, i.e. to be baptized Christians. In fact ver. 30 is explanatory of the metaphoric meaning of ver. 29.

φείδομαι is only used by Paul, except 2Pe 2:4, 2Pe 2:5.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Grievous [βαρεις] . Lit., heavy : violent, rapacious.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.